


"The Empress of Mars" S10.9: Decoding Doctor Who Season 10 Episodes

by TardisGirlLoveStory



Series: Season 10 Doctor Who [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Analysis, F/M, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 02:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11220990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisGirlLoveStory/pseuds/TardisGirlLoveStory
Summary: This is the continuing work of a multi-chapter handbook and meta analysis for Season 10 of BBC's Doctor Who.  While it's not absolutely necessary to read the previous documents, I do build on the concepts and metaphors explained previously.Season 10 spoiler warnings





	1. Fastballs, Mars-Not-Mars, Rassilon References, Etc.

**Author's Note:**

> **** Spoiler warning. ****
> 
> Check out my [meta archive on Tumblr](http://tardisgirlepic.tumblr.com/meta-archive) for images

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classic character and much more.
> 
> Season 10 spoiler warnings

[[For images, see my tumblr chapter]](http://tardisgirlepic.tumblr.com/post/161952566613/ch-1-the-empress-of-mars-analysis-doctor-who//)

**NOTE:**  
TPEW = “The Pyramid at the End of the World”  
TRODM = “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”  
THORS = “The Husbands of River Song”  
CAL = Charlotte Abigail Lux, the little girl from the Library  
TOS = The Original Series of _Star Trek_  
TNG = _Star Trek: The Next Generation_

##  **Wow, So Much to Say and So Little Time!**

It’s going to be impossible to cover all the main points of “The Empress of Mars” because of the huge data dump of subtext.  DW has run out of time to tell the story in a slower manner.  Even though the subtext has been coming at a fast pace all season, this episode crams more subtext into it than probably any I’ve ever seen.   It must have taken Mark Gatiss awhile to figure out how to get all the references into the episode.

These week-to-week analyses are just the start, too, of how I read subtext.  The one thing they lack is to place them in the broader context after several weeks and months, seeing how they fit in the subsequent story.  For the most part, I don’t have that luxury of doing that here in a weekly format.  That’s something for a post mortem, so to speak, after Season 10 is over.

Due to lack of time, I’m going to show only necessary photos. 

The previous analysis was really long.  My apologies.  This analysis will be in multiple chapters.

##  **Big Classic Who Connection**

“The Empress of Mars” has a very Classic Who feel to it.  It’s clear to me that Mark Gatiss is a fan of the Ice Warriors since this is the second story he’s written with them.  His first one was “Cold War,” an 11th Doctor story.

However, the really big Classic Who connection comes at the end with the Alpha Centauri character, shown below.  Alpha Centauri is an ambassador, or was, at least, in Classic Who.  


The woman, Ysanne Churchman, who voices this character in “The Empress of Mars” is the same person who voiced the original Alpha Centauri in the 3rd Doctor story “The Curse of Peladon.”  I had never heard of this character before.  But now I’m geeking out with the Classic Who connection of getting the original actress.

Ysanne Churchman was born May 14, 1925, and according to the TARDIS Wikia, she has “voiced Alpha Centauri in the _Doctor Who_ stories _The Curse of Peladon_ , _The Monster of Peladon_ and _Empress of Mars_ , and an Eight Legs in the _Doctor Who_ story _Planet of the Spiders_.”

##  **Usurpation of a Different Type, Cowardice & Leadership**

This story has a lot of themes.  And one of them is usurpation.  It’s not possession as we’ve seen but the situation where young Captain Catchlove in the British army is blackmailing older Colonel Godsacre with the colonel’s secret.  Godsacre is a figurehead of sorts, and at any moment of the captain’s choosing, the captain can take command, and he does.

Interestingly, this theme is connected to another, which is people grappling with cowardice in the face of leadership.  The colonel had a crisis of leadership sometime back, which led to his desertion.  However, Catchlove fairs no better once he usurps control. 

In fact, he is even more of a coward than Godsacre.  Even though we see Godsacre run again from leadership once he, the Doctor, and Bill escape the brig, it’s Catchlove who throws Vincey in front of Ice Warror fire to save himself.  And a little later, Catchlove takes Queen Iraxxa hostage to save himself again.  In fact, he’s planning to desert his men and strand everyone on Mars.

In the end, Godsacre finds redemption when he pledges his life to die bravely in battle.  

> **GODSACRE** : God save the Queen.  
>  **SOLDIERS** : God save the Queen!  
>  **IRAXXA** : You will die with honour, with bravery, and in the service of those you swore to protect.  
>  **GODSACRE** : Thank you. You don't know what that means. Thank you.  
>  **IRAXXA** : But not today. In battle, soldier. To die in battle is the way of the warrior. Pledge your allegiance to me and my world, and I will ensure you have the opportunity.  
>  **GODSACRE** : My life and my service are yours. (kneels) To the end.  
>  **IRAXXA** : To the death, my friend. To the death.

It’s a good day to die, a warrior’s hope to die well in battle.  While this phrase does come up in TNG with Klingons, like Worf, who is living on the _Enterprise_ , among humans, I first heard this phrase as a child.  It comes up in the movie _Little Big Man_ with Dustin Hoffman, a white man who was raised among a group of Cheyenne in the Old West after his parents were killed by another tribe.

I mention this because redemption and dying well have become themes for the 12th Doctor.  Dying well is implicit in the whole idea of Norse culture and Ragnarök.  And we’ll examine this more in the next chapter.

Anyway, Godsacre and Catchlove aren’t the only ones grappling with leadership in the episode.  Iraxxa admonishes Friday, telling him his duty, as an Ice Warrior, is to command.

> **DOCTOR** : His cryogenic cell was damaged. They saved him.  
>  **IRAXXA** : And made him their pet!  
>  **FRIDAY** : It was necessary to dissemble, Majesty. I thought only of your resurrection. It was a tactical decision.  
>  **IRAXXA** : An Ice Warrior's duty is to command!

She doesn’t accept his excuse.

####  **Cowardice & Leadership in a Broader Sense**

Cowardice has long been a theme.  The Doctor has been running all his life, according to the 10th Doctor in “The Sound of Drums,” ever since he looked into the Untempered Schism at the age of eight.  In “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent,” we find out he’s been running from himself.  He’s scared of the prophecy that he is the Hybrid, who will destroy the universe for love.

> **GENERAL** : All Matrix prophecies concur that this creature will one day stand in the ruins of Gallifrey. It will unravel the Web of Time and destroy a billion billion hearts to heal its own.

**Cowardly in Love**  
As a result, the Doctor knows he is not supposed to fall in love with anyone.  Love is a curse, which comes back to the 7th Doctor story “The Curse of Fenric.”  He then becomes cowardly in love, too, not telling people how he feels.  We saw those results, for example, in River’s outpouring of anguish in THORS.

 **Cowardice in the Face of Leadership**  
In “Dark Water,” Danny Pink dies.  Later, he has a chance to delete his emotions in the Nethersphere, but he can’t bring himself to do it.  In “Death in Heaven,” the 2nd part of the finale to Season 8, Danny becomes a Cyberman with emotions.

He wants Clara to turn off his emotions because he can’t bring himself to do it.  He’s a coward here.  Yet Danny admonishes the Doctor for the Doctor’s cowardice of not wanting to turn off Danny’s emotions, either, and allowing Clara to do it.  Danny is being hypocritical, but then Danny is a mirror of the Doctor.

> **DOCTOR** : Danny, Danny, I need you to tell me. What are the clouds going to do? What is the plan?  
>  **CYBER-DANNY** : How would I know?  
>  **DOCTOR** : You're part of a hive mind now. Presumably that's how you found Clara. Just look.  
>  **CYBER-DANNY** : I can't see much.  
>  **DOCTOR** : Look harder.  
>  **CYBER-DANNY** : Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is. Watch the blood-soaked old general in action. I can't see properly, sir, because this needs activating. If you want to know what's coming, you have to switch it on. And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage? Sir.  
>  **DOCTOR** : (sighs) I need to know. I need to know.  
>  **CYBER-DANNY** : (sotto) Yes. (normal) Yes, you do.  
>  **CLARA** : Give me the screwdriver.  
>  **DOCTOR** : No.  
>  **CLARA** : Just do it, Doctor. Do as you are told.  
>  (The Doctor meets Cyber-Danny's gaze then gives Clara the sonic screwdriver.)  
>  **CYBER-DANNY** : Typical officer. Got to keep those hands clean.

In the end, it’s the women who step up.  Clara turns off Danny’s emotions, and Bill, to help stop a slaughter, confronts Iraxxa in an irreverent way that even the Doctor wouldn’t or couldn’t consider.

 **Fear & Usurpation **  
Has the Doctor been usurped because of his fear when he was blind?

Interestingly, the Master talks about his own fear in the 10th Doctor episode [“The Sound of Drums.”](http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/29-12.htm)

> **MASTER** : The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a  
>  **[Underpass]**  
>  **MASTER** [OC]: Time War. I was there when the  
>  **[Cabinet room]**  
>  **MASTER** : Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me, because I was so scared. 

Turning human is a form of usurpation of a sort, where the human part takes full control of the Doctor’s body.  In “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood,” we saw how different the Doctor was when he was human.  He did things he would never do as a Time Lord, like having children beaten or sending them into battle.

Both the Master and Doctor turned themselves human out of fear.  Is this how all the problems started?  There is subtext in “The Empress of Mars” that suggests, not for the first time, that events are all the Doctor’s fault.  We’ll look at this in the next chapter.

##  **Imperialism: Another Type of Exploitation**

Exploitation of beings is one of the main themes in Season 10 within different types of governments, economic systems, and government actions.  We’ve seen it in a totalitarian government in “The Lie of the Land.”   Before that, we’ve seen capitalism gone amok in multiple episodes.  And now imperialism rears its ugly head in “The Empress of Mars.”

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism): 

> Imperialism is an action that involves a country (usually an empire or kingdom) extending its power by the acquisition of territories. It may also include the exploitation of these territories, an action that is linked to colonialism. Colonialism is generally regarded as an expression of imperialism.
> 
> It is different from New Imperialism, as the term imperialism is usually applied to the colonization of the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries, as opposed to the expansion of Western Powers (and Japan) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, both are examples of imperialism.

Since exploitation of groups of people, racism, and species-ism are heavily referenced, especially this season, I expect this has to be at the heart of the story with the Doctor.  It comes back to the question: why is Caecilius a slave in Pompeii to begin with?  Is it because he is a Janus of sorts but turned himself human?  The Janus could also possibly relate to Missy and the Master, where Missy represents the future and the Master the past.  

##  **Imperialism, _Robinson Crusoe_ , Friday & Daniel Defoe**

_Robinson Crusoe_ , a 1719 novel by Englishman Daniel Defoe, is important to look at since Friday, the Ice Warrior, is specifically mentioned as being named for the character in the book.

In the novel, Robinson Crusoe is an Englishman whose father wants him to study law.  Initially, Crusoe is committed to obeying, but he eventually capitulates to the temptation of the sea and embarks on a ship with a friend.  They nearly die in a storm.  On his second voyage, Moorish pirates seize the ship, and Crusoe gets enslaved.  Later, he and a slave boy break free, and Crusoe sells the slave boy.

Years later, he gets involved in the slave trade when he joins an expedition to bring slaves from Africa, but he gets shipwrecked in a storm, along with 3 animals.  He reads the Bible and becomes religious, so here is another religious conversion event, similar to the Doctor going through the Great Work.  

[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe) says

> More years pass and Crusoe discovers native cannibals, who occasionally visit the island to kill and eat prisoners. At first he plans to kill them for committing an abomination but later realizes he has no right to do so, as the cannibals do not knowingly commit a crime. He dreams of obtaining one or two servants by freeing some prisoners; when a prisoner escapes, Crusoe helps him, naming his new companion "Friday" after the day of the week he appeared. Crusoe then teaches him English and converts him to Christianity.

Friday, too, wants to eat the people they kill, but Crusoe forbids it.  Crusoe spends 28 years marooned, the last 4 with his servant, Friday, according to Wikipedia, “on a remote tropical desert island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers, before ultimately being rescued. The story has since been thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on a Pacific island called "Más a Tierra", now part of Chile, which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966, but various literary sources have also been suggested.”

The expression "Man Friday," comes from the novel and describes a male personal assistant or servant, especially one who is particularly competent or loyal.  "Girl Friday" is the female equivalent.  (Nardole is, at times, playing the Doctor’s Man Friday.)

It’s the interpretations of the novel that I find very important because they symbolize themes, especially in Season 10.   It’s James Joyce’s that I find particularly interesting.  According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe):

> Novelist James Joyce noted that the true symbol of the British Empire is Robinson Crusoe, to whom he ascribed stereotypical and somewhat hostile English racial characteristics: "He is the true prototype of the British colonist. ... The whole Anglo-Saxon spirit in Crusoe: the manly independence, the unconscious cruelty, the persistence, the slow yet efficient intelligence, the sexual apathy, the calculating taciturnity." In a sense Crusoe attempts to replicate his society on the island. This is achieved through the use of European technology, agriculture and even a rudimentary political hierarchy. Several times in the novel Crusoe refers to himself as the "king" of the island, whilst the captain describes him as the "governor" to the mutineers. At the very end of the novel the island is explicitly referred to as a "colony". The idealised master-servant relationship Defoe depicts between Crusoe and Friday can also be seen in terms of cultural imperialism. Crusoe represents the "enlightened" European whilst Friday is the "savage" who can only be redeemed from his barbarous way of life through assimilation into Crusoe's culture. Nonetheless Defoe also takes the opportunity to criticise the historic Spanish conquest of South America.

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe), Defoe’s “most successful poem, _The True-Born Englishman_ (1701), defended the [King of England William III, who was Dutch-born] against the perceived xenophobia of his enemies, satirising the English claim to racial purity.”

Interestingly, racism was not overt in “The Empress of Mars,” and at least from what we saw, there was tolerance of both Vincey and Bill, at least race-wise.  We did see sexism, which added realism for the time period.  On top of that, Vincey had a picture of Alice, the white woman he wanted to marry.   So I found the message of human toleration hopeful from the start, except for Godsacre’s initial reaction to the Doctor.  Most likely, there’s more going on here with the Doctor than what it appears.

Instead of racism, species-ism is a problem with both the humans and the Ice Warriors.  The humans have made Friday a servant, just like Robinson Crusoe did, and they want to claim another planet as their own.  On the other hand, Iraxxa calls humans pink things and worms.  

I see this episode as hopeful in the end, where the 2 sides show tolerance and cooperation, overcoming whatever prejudices they have to live, work, and die together.

While the themes are sound, we can’t trust the setting.

##  **They’re in the Library Matrix**

From the start, the Matrix makes its presence known.  Things aren’t happening the way they appear.

####  **NASA**

At the beginning of the episode, the shot of NASA looks very digitized, so we know right away this is in the Matrix.  Also, there’s a reflection line (red arrow) to tell us this isn’t real.  


Inside NASA, there’s another reflection line (red arrow).  Also, there are at least 3 types of computers (yellow arrows) in the mission control room.  While I’m not an expert on working at NASA, I’ve been in a similar environment.  The computers would most likely all be the same in this type of environment.  Maintaining multiple types of computers (one is a laptop) costs more money and can create potential problems.  


####  **Doctor Fades into the Clockwork**

Interestingly, right at the end of the NASA scene, the Doctor smiles at the “God Save the Queen” message, which seems odd once again.  Then, a mist of sorts starts to superimpose itself over the Doctor, and the color mutes before he starts to fade into the clockwork, as shown in the image below.  He becomes part of the machinery.  


####  **Mars Is Not Mars**

We know the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole can’t be on Mars for multiple reasons.  The Doctor while on Mars said, “Mind you, there's a lot here that doesn't make sense.”  So true!  These are just a few of the problems:

 **Martian Gravity**  
Since Mars has a lot less mass than Earth, the surface gravity on Mars, [according to NASA](https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/extreme/quickfacts/), is only 37.5% of the surface gravity on Earth.  Therefore, if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only 37.5 pounds on Mars.  The moon’s mass is about 1/6 of Earth, so 100 pounds on Earth weighs only 16.7 pounds on the moon.  

While people on Mars wouldn’t be bouncing as much as on the moon when they walked, there would still be a noticeable difference in how people moved.

 **Martian Oxygen**  
To prove there was oxygen on the Mars-not-Mars, there was a fire.  That didn’t preclude any harmful elements or compounds, though.  Nardole, the Doctor, and Bill could still have died when they took off their helmets.

On Earth, our atmosphere is mostly made of nitrogen, 78%, while oxygen accounts for about 21% Argon, carbon dioxide, and smaller amounts of other gases make up the rest.

On Mars, [according to the Universe Today](https://www.universetoday.com/22603/mars-compared-to-earth/), the atmosphere is composed of 96% carbon dioxide, 1.93% argon and 1.89% nitrogen along with traces of oxygen and water.  The atmosphere is not breathable without a spacesuit or an artificial environment.  Even if the Ice Warriors had created an artificial environment, that doesn’t account for the gravity issues, unless this is a spaceship with artificial gravity.

There’s also less atmospheric pressure on Mars.

It’s interesting that oxygen is once again a subject and that there would be a lack thereof.  I’m betting “Oxygen” will be referenced again in at least one subsequent episode.  

**Spacesuits Are Fake**  
The helmets wouldn’t have helped anyway because the spacesuits are the 2-piece variety.  Therefore, they can’t be airtight the way they should be.  There’s no way the steam punk spacesuits of the Victorians are airtight.  I do love the ear horns.  Nice touch.  Why does Catchlove’s helmet have all those viewing holes?  How many eyes does he have?

 **Helmet Lights**  
Most of the time, we can see 4 lights in the helmets, a sign they are in the Library.  A few times, we can see 5, which is a weapon of mass destruction.  This episode is very much foreshadowing the Doctor’s fate, which we’ll examine in the subtext references.  


**Martian Ice Cap Obscuring “God Save the Queen”**  
There’s no way the Martian ice cap wasn’t there in Victorian times.  Therefore, the whole “God Save the Queen” message couldn’t possibly be written the way it appears.

##  **Pitching Fastballs: Astounding Number of Internal & External References**

Wow, there are an astounding number of internal and external references in the subtext!  On the whole, “The Empress of Mars” possibly has more internal and external references to movies, TV shows, books, short stories, songs, British terminology, mythology, and other DW episodes than any other episode so far that I’ve seen in DW.  Also, I believe Season 10 has more of these internal and external references than any other season of DW.  

“The Empress of Mars” is a great example of fastballs: the copious subtext references that we have to deal with in one week before the next episode airs.  Because I had to look up most of the references, it’s taken time just to understand all of this before I get to write anything, which cut into my writing time.  There are several references to Classic Who episodes, but I only had seen a few of them before this episode.

On top of this, some of the external references are actually indirect allusions to other DW episodes.  So there is a big bowl of spaghetti to look at.

##  **“The Empress of Mars,” _The Princess of Mars_ & _Star Wars_**

Right from the start, the title of the episode, “The Empress of Mars,” is an external reference to a classic science fantasy novel _A Princess of Mars_ by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs.  It’s the first book of his Barsoom series.

 _The Princess of Mars_ and the Barsoom series is what _Star Wars_ is based on.  In 2012, Disney put out the _John Carter_ movie but horribly marketed it.  Many people didn’t realize this John Carter story started it all.  The original story really is remarkable given Burroughs wrote it in 1912.

The Doctor even made a reference, too, to _Star Wars_ , when he said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”  That quote is said in every _Star Wars_ movie at least once. 

Here’s what [StarWars.com](http://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-john-carter) has to say about Burroughs’ story _The Princess of Mars_ and subsequent books and the _John Carter_ film.

> _John Carter_ is a film directed by Pixar alum Andrew Stanton that follows Civil War veteran John Carter on his astounding trip to the planet Barsoom, which we know as Mars. There he meets a princess leading a rebellion, fights against an evil empire, and meets a variety of strange aliens on a desert wasteland of a planet, gets powers far beyond the abilities of normal men, and encounters a strange religion. There are times where he’s captured, thrown into an arena to fight bizarre monsters, and other times where he’s forced to rescue a princess.
> 
> It sounds like I could be talking about _Star Wars_ just as easily as _John Carter_. And since _John Carter_ came out in 2012, you might be thinking, “No! You’ve got it the other way around! _John Carter_ was influenced by _Star Wars_.”
> 
> But you’d be surprised.
> 
> Here’s a quote from _George Lucas_ in a 1977 issue of _Science Fiction Review_ : “Originally, I wanted to make a _Flash Gordon_ movie, with all the trimmings, but I couldn’t obtain all the rights. So I began researching and found where [ _Flash Gordon_ creator] Alex Raymond got his idea: The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially his _John Carter_ series of books.”

We examined many chapters ago how the Doctor was going to be involved in a rebellion.  We’ve seen the evil empire in “The Lie of the Land.”  Also, we’ve even seen much of the rest of it, including a strange religion – the Church of the Papal Mainframe, the Silence, and the Monks.

##  **Mars Has Significant Ties to Previous Episodes**

When I think of Mars references in DW, I think of “The Waters of Mars,” which “The Pilot” alluded to with all the water coming off of Heather.  However, there are other episodes that are very important, too.  BTW, this isn’t an exhaustive list:

####  **“The Pyramids of Mars”**

In “The Pyramids of Mars,” a 4th Doctor story, Sutekh, according to the [TARDIS Wikia](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Osiran), is a powerful extraterrestrial, also known as Sutekh the Destroyer.  He was an Osiran who planned to destroy all life in the universe.  Afraid of all forms of life which might one day challenge his hegemony, he became the destroyer of all living things.  The Osiran inspired Egyptian mythology.

At one point, he usurped the Doctor’s body.

####  **“The Ambassadors of Death”**  


“The Ambassadors of Death” is an early 3rd Doctor story with Liz Shaw as his companion.  I had never seen this story before.  It can possibly explain a bit about what is happening in Season 10. 

The Doctor joins UNIT's investigation of the mystery surrounding _Mars Probe 7_.  The _Recovery 7_ , on a rescue mission, runs into problems once it comes back to Earth.  The 3 astronauts are kidnapped.  It turns out these astronauts are a triad of radiation-dependent alien ambassadors, who swapped places with the 3 human astronauts.

According to the TARDIS Wikia, the Doctor finds that _Mars Probe 7_ is still orbiting in space.  Intercepted by a huge, alien spaceship and taken aboard, the Doctor finds the real astronauts unharmed, but mind controlled.  The aliens' captain threatens to destroy the Earth unless the 3 ambassadors are released.

The Doctor returns to Earth and discovers that the kidnapping of the ambassadors is part of a plot devised by xenophobic ex-astronaut General Carrington to frame the aliens.  The general has a machine built to mind control them, forcing them to kill humans, so he can convince the world's authorities to wage war against the extraterrestrials.  

The 3 ambassadors act like robots, very similar to the zombies in “Oxygen.”  In fact, like the zombies, the aliens can kill with their touch.  Once the aliens aren’t being mind controlled, they want to know why they have been made to kill when they came in peace.  The Doctor and UNIT thwart the general’s plans and arrange an exchange of the ambassadors for the astronauts.

Interestingly, right at the end, there is a big structure overhead made of hexagons, symbolic of imprisonment.  The Doctor walks out, representing his freedom as one of the astronauts.  

In the 10th Doctor episode “Smith and Jones,” the Doctor talked about roentgen radiation after using an X-ray machine to kill a Slab, a slave drone, who was trying to kill them. 

> **MARTHA** : What did you do?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead.  
>  **MARTHA** : But isn't that going to kill you?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Nah, it's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out. I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it. 

Why would the Doctor or any Time Lord be playing with roentgen bricks in a nursery?

Interestingly, in the very 1st Dalek story called [“The Daleks,”](http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/1-2.htm) the Daleks talk about needing radiation:

> **DALEK 2** : We need radiation to survive. So we must increase our supply of radiation.  
>  **DALEK 1** : But there is only one way to do that.  
>  **DALEK 2** : Exactly. We may have to explode another neutron bomb.

There’s a possible theme here of needing radiation to survive in 2 of 3 episodes.

 **Tip** : When reading subtext, always look for patterns (at least 3 occurrences).  Or what could be the beginning of a pattern (2 occurrences).  Themes that keep coming up are foreshadowing the coming canon.  Patience is typically required because it’s rare for foreshadowing to become canon in the next episode.  Usually, things take years to become canon.  However, Season 10 and the 12th Doctor are different.

There are several key points here, making patterns that we’ve encountered.  

  1. There is a triad involved.  
  2. There is usurpation, not of possessing a body, but of mind controlling the aliens to kill, something they normally wouldn’t do; they came in peace.  
  3. Their touch kills, like the zombies in “Oxygen.”  (This isn’t a pattern with 3 occurrences that I know of, but with everything else matching it becomes part of the pattern.)  
  4. We know the subtext shows in “Deep Breath” that the Doctor is a cyborg.  Is he really a cyborg?  Is it that he is just mind controlled to look that way, or is he really that way?  If so, how did he get that way? 
  5. The aliens are being framed, which is something we examined as a possibility in[ my analysis of “The Lie of the Land,”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11162721) relating back to how the Valeyard, the Master, and the Time Lords were working to frame the 6th Doctor. 



Therefore, “The Ambassadors of Death” does help substantiate my hypothesis that the Doctor is being framed and being used to kill against his will.  And this also goes along with the image we keep taking a look at, shown below, from “Human Nature” that has said all along the 24th Doctor (the Roman Doctor) is in the Library metaphor being framed and used against his will.  And it’s because he’s unbalanced by love.  For the extensive examination, take a look at [Chapter 10 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/20484622).  


There’s a similar photo of the 12th Doctor that we looked at from TRODM in Lucy’s kitchen in the pre-airing analysis of the episode in [Chapter 9 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/20345815).  


A cyborg assassin and time travel are themes of _The Terminator_ , which Bill mentioned in “The Empress of Mars.”  The Terminator goes back in time to kill someone to prevent a revolt.  Not only does this have similarities to using the ambassadors as cyborg-type killing machines, but also the movie’s concept of an assassin relates to the 4th Doctor story, “The Deadly Assassin,” which we examined in [my analysis of “Extremis.”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11002860/chapters/24511071)  In it, the Master frames the Doctor.

####  **“The Christmas Invasion”**

While the first 10th Doctor story “The Christmas Invasion” has just a small reference to Mars, it is very significant.  Britain sends the _Guinevere One_ space probe on a mission to the red planet and loses touch with it, which is a call back to “The Ambassadors of Death.”  While, the signal loss is only for a short time, unlike the Classic Who episode, we see a triad of assassin Santas.  Also, Mickey and the others talk of the Santas being pilot fish, a reference to the 12th Doctor.  Santa, for that matter, is also a reference to the Doctor.  Therefore, there is quite a bit of similarities to “The Ambassadors of Death.”

Guinevere is also a character in the King Arthur legend.

####  **“The Waters of Mars,” “The Five Doctors,” the Ice Queen’s & Rassilon’s Tombs**

Back in [Chapter 19 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/23535186), I posed a question.   “Did the 10th Doctor bring a curse upon himself when he announced he was Time Lord Victorious” in “The Waters of Mars”?

Here’s what I said

> I believe he is either a version of Rassilon or a slave of Rassilon, since this most likely comes with a curse of immortality, just like with the Ring of Rassilon.
> 
> Rassilon, in the past, has slept eternally in his tomb while his mind lived on in the Matrix.  Putting on the ring grants the wearer immortality.  However, it imprisons the wearer in the stone of Rassilon, watching over him forever.  In “The Five Doctors,” a Time Lord puts on the ring and gets petrified as a relief on the side of Rassilon’s sarcophagus.  The ring comes with the warning:
> 
>     _To lose is to win_  
>  _And he who wins shall lose_
> 
> So Time Lord Victorious loses.
> 
> Weeping Angels are probably involved in this.

We’ve actually looked at “The Five Doctors” multiple times in recent chapters because Rassilon’s insignia keeps coming up in Season 10.  Therefore, it’s not surprising that the Ice Queen’s tomb in “The Empress of Mars” looks similar to Rassilon’s tomb, shown below, in “The Five Doctors.”  
Rassilon is sleeping eternally (red arrow).  However, we see his projection from the Matrix (yellow arrow) of his head.  The Time Lord on the right will end up in the blank area (white arrow) as a stone relief because he puts on Rassilon’s ring and gets immortality at a price of being a sentinel to Rassilon.  This relief is one reason why I believe the Weeping Angels may have something to do with all of this.  


In comparison, here’s the Ice Queen’s tomb, shown below.  Like Rassilon’s tomb, the items underneath the body, in this case gems, have an effect on the body above.  


In fact, both Rassilon and Iraxxa claim themselves as resurrected.

In [“Hell Bent,”](http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/35-12.html) after Rassilon tries to have the Doctor executed, gunships show up

> **RASSILON** : Excellent, General. You sent for reinforcements.  
>  **DOCTOR** : No, he didn't.  
>  (He puts on his sonic sunglasses.)  
>  **DOCTOR** : I did.  
>  (The final troopers join the Doctor as the gunships train their weapons on Rassilon.)  
>  **RASSILON** : What? I am Rassilon the redeemer! Rassilon, the resurrected! Gallifrey is mine!

In “The Empress of Mars,” Iraxxa talks to Friday, who is here sentinel:

> **IRAXXA** : My Sentinel. You have fulfilled your pledge. I am resurrected!

##  **Mars, the Roman God of War, and the Janus Connection**

Mars is significant for multiple reasons.  Not only is it the setting of multiple Martian episodes that have a bearing on what is happening, but also Mars was the Roman god of war.  According to Wikipedia, he was also “an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter and he was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army.”

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, “Mars was a part of the Archaic Triad along with Jupiter and Quirinus, the latter of whom as a guardian of the Roman people had no Greek equivalent.”  [And Quirinus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirinus): “In Augustan Rome, _Quirinus_ was also an epithet of Janus, as _Janus Quirinus_.”

[Regarding Janus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus): In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.

This is significant because not only is there a triad, which we’ve examined in [my analysis in “Extremis,”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11002860/chapters/24549654) although not in the same context, but also we’ve examined the Janus connection, which shows up in “Face the Raven,” where Clara is killed.  We also saw it in “The Pilot,” where Heather is shown as a Janus in a puddle.  Since I never got to finish “The Pilot” analysis, I ended up talking about the Janus concept and mistaken identity in [my analysis of “Oxygen.”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10951029)

The Doctor is a mirror of the 2 Janus in “Face the Raven” as well as Heather.  Interestingly, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings.  We know the Doctor is connected to time, and we’ve examined the Door/Doughnut metaphor (which would also cover passages and gateways) in [Chapter 17 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/23423235), along with the Doctor’s struggle with duality in [my analysis of “Oxygen.”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10951029)

Therefore, it’s fitting that “The Empress of Mars” takes place on Mars-not-Mars for multiple reasons.

I’ve arrived at the symbology of duality and the Door/Doughnut metaphor (which includes gates, doorways, and passages) independently from the symbolism of Janus.  Because everything connects, it verifies we are on the right track of reading the subtext.

 **Tip** : When reading subtext in DW, just about all subtext will have multiple connections, so it should link up from various, independent directions.  Once it does, you know these things are important and will become part of the canon in some form.

##  **Alpha Centauri & Ice Warrior References **

As we saw above, Alpha Centauri shows up in 2 stories, neither of which I had seen. 

####  **“The Curse of Peladon” & TOS: “Journey to Babel”**

“The Curse of Peladon,” a 3rd Doctor episode, is very interesting, especially because DW obviously based this episode on parts of TOS: “Journey to Babel” and Spock’s background.  Now, I understand better why Spock’s name comes up 5 times in “The Empty Child.”

Anyway, in “The Curse of Peladon,” according to the [TARDIS Wikia](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Curse_of_Peladon_\(TV_story\)):

> The Doctor and Jo make a test flight in the TARDIS and arrive on the planet Peladon. Seeking shelter, they enter the citadel of the soon-to-be-crowned King Peladon, where the Doctor is mistaken for a human dignitary summoned to act as chairman of a committee assessing an application by the planet to join the Galactic Federation.

Here’s a case of mistaken identity.  Only men of rank and women of royal blood are allowed in the royal throne room of Peladon.  The Doctor and Jo become imposter Federation delegates – Jo impersonating a princess.

Every time the term “Federation” came up, I kept thinking of _Star Trek_.  At first, I didn’t think anything of the soon-to-be king’s pedigree that he was half-human on his mother’s side.  However, when characters started talking about the delegates voting on Peladon’s application to join the Federation and mining rights were involved, along with a strange murder, I suddenly realized this was based on parts of the TOS episode “Journey to Babel.”  And the soon-to-be king was a mirror of Spock, who is the Doctor in DW, as “The Empty Child” makes clear.

According to [Memory Alpha regarding “Journey to Babel”](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Journey_to_Babel_\(episode\)):

> The delegates will be attending a conference on the neutral planetoid named Babel to decide the admission of the planet Coridan to the Federation, which is rich in dilithium but is poorly defended.
> 
> As the Enterprise comes under attack on the way to a diplomatic conference on Babel, one of the alien dignitaries is murdered, and Spock's estranged father Sarek is the prime suspect – but he is also deathly ill, and only Spock can save him.

In this _Star Trek_ episode, we find out Spock broke tradition against the wishes of his father and joined Starfleet, an instrument of the Federation.  In comparison, one of King Peladon’s trusted advisors is accused by another trusted advisor of abandoning “the ancient ways of our people.”   And he says that this will bring the curse of Aggedor upon everyone.  To avoid the curse, the advisor kills the other.  The king wants to join the Federation, which would abandon the ancient ways.

The Doctor, as Spock, is a mirror of soon-to-be King Peladon.  The prince wants to marry Jo, the Doctor’s companion.

In comparison to the Doctor-as-a-prince mirror in “The Curse of Peledon,” in “The Lie of the Land” the 12th Doctor is associated with Prince Charles (red arrow), shown behind the Doctor, and Lady Diana in her wedding dress (on the other side of his head).  This happens inside the pyramid just before he touches the seated Monk’s head.  


Then, in “The Curse of Peladon” both Alpha Centauri and Ice Warriors show up.  The Ice Warriors are not the villains.  In fact, one of the Ice Warriors saves the Doctor’s life.

Even more interesting is that there are emblems of Aggedor, the beast, shown below, whom people are afraid of.  It looks like a pig or boar, which is reminiscent of the sheriff’s boar emblem in the 12th Doctor episode also penned by Mark Gatiss, “The Robot of Sherwood.”  


####  **“The Robot of Sherwood”**  


Here’s the Sheriff’s shield and emblem in “Robot of Sherwood.”  This shield also shows up in THORS.  


Surprisingly, Ice Warriors and Mars are also mentioned in “The Robot of Sherwood” in a conversation between the Doctor and Clara.

> **CLARA** : Yeah, you. You stop bad things happening every minute of every day. That sounds pretty heroic to me.  
>  (The Doctor licks something from a large metal spoon. Custard?)  
>  **DOCTOR** : Just passing the time. Hey, what about Mars?  
>  **CLARA** : What?!  
>  **DOCTOR** : The Ice Warrior Hives.  
>  **CLARA** : You said it was my choice.

The sheriff (a cyborg) was supposed to lose his head in the episode.  However, it was to air just after journalists were decapitated, so the BBC, thinking better than to show a decapitation, edited it out.  

####  **“The Monster of Peladon” & TOS: “The Cloud Minders”  **

“The Monster of Peladon” is a sequel to “The Curse of Peladon.”  However, it’s not that good.  Both Alpha Centauri and Ice Warriors show up again, but this time the Ice Warriors are villains.  This episode is based on the same premise as the TOS episode “The Cloud Minders.”  In both the DW and TOS episodes, miners are at odds with the leadership on the planets.

The main thing I came away with from this sequel is that 50 years later, King Peladon was dead, and his daughter is now queen.

##  **Another Master Reference**

One of the internal references in “The Empress of Mars,” has the Doctor mirroring the Master again.  At NASA, Knibbs starts counting down to the reception of the probe’s signal.

> **KNIBBS** : I got everything crossed. Okay, people. Transmission arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six.  
>  (The big screen is now counting down to Download Commences with them.)  
>  **DOCTOR** : Five, four, three, two, one! Sorry, I could never resist a countdown.

 In “Last of the Time Lords,” the Master says

> **MASTER** : Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down. I never could resist a ticking clock. My children, are you ready?

Additionally, the Doctor’s smile at “God Save the Queen” before the opening credits just seems really odd and out of character.

##  **In the Next Chapters**

There are so many references left to look at, so I’m planning on 2 more chapters to show you the meaning of at least part of them.  For example, Friday is a lot more important than he might appear, so we’ll examine him in connection to more than just _Robinson Crusoe_.  In another example, ravens show up in the subtext in multiple ways, which comes back to Clara.  We’ll begin to look at some of the raven references in the next chapter.  Then, there’s more to the Victorians than it appears, and I’ll show you examples of what I call collective symbology vs. individual symbology in relation to the troops.  Additionally, we’ll look at how the subtext is coming together for Ragnarök and more.


	2. Friday, Odin & the Doctor; Missy; Etc.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We'll examine what the subtext says about the characters and much more.
> 
> Season 10 spoiler warnings

[[For images, see my tumblr chapter]](http://tardisgirlepic.tumblr.com/post/161967235558/ch-2-the-empress-of-mars-analysis-doctor-who/)

**NOTE:**  
TPEW = “The Pyramid at the End of the World”  
TRODM = “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”  
THORS = “The Husbands of River Song”  
CAL = Charlotte Abigail Lux, the little girl from the Library  
TOS = The Original Series of _Star Trek_  
TNG = _Star Trek: The Next Generation_

##  **Norse Mythology & Vikings Have a Big Role**

Roman and Egyptian mythology aren’t the only mythological references in “The Empress of Mars.”  Norse Mythology, for example, has a huge role in the episode, as well as other Viking references.

####  **Egil & Eagle**  


At NASA, we see a sign “EGIL” in front of the Doctor in the image below, which refers to Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicized as Egil Skallagrimsson).  The Doctor, The Ghost, is associated here with Egil.  At first we see the sign without the Doctor.  


According to Wikipedia, Egil “was a Viking-Age poet, warrior and farmer. He is also the protagonist of the eponymous Egil's Saga. Egil's Saga historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 CE and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 CE.”

> Egill was born in Iceland, the son of Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir, and the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr ("Night Wolf"). His ancestor, Hallbjorn, was Norwegian-Sami.

Here’s another wolf reference, where the Doctor-mirror is the grandson of a metaphorical wolf.

> When Grímr arrived in Iceland, he settled at Borg, the place where his father's coffin landed. Grímr was a respected chieftain and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway.

OK, the term “Borg” automatically conjures thoughts of several _Star Trek: TNG_ episodes where alien cyborgs known as the Borg show up to assimilate people, turning them into Borg and absorbing them into the collective.  They first show up in the episode “Q Who?”  Um… I never thought about this before, but wow, just change Q to Doctor!  Captain Picard gets converted to a Borg in “The Best of Both Worlds.”  Part 1 was the finale to Season 3, while Part 2 was the premiere of Season 4.

> Egill composed his first poem at the age of three years. He exhibited berserk behaviour, and this, together with the description of his large and unattractive head, has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget's disease. As professor Byock explains in his Scientific American article, Paget's disease causes a thickening of the bones and may lead eventually to blindness. The poetry of Egill contains clues to Paget's disease, and this is the first application of science, with the exclusion of archaeology, to the Icelandic sagas.

Here’s a reference to blindness.

Egil had a very bloody history.  At times, he was marked for death, but his epic poetry, fit for kings, saved him.  So words saved him, just like they have saved the Doctor time and time again.

“Egil” is another overloaded word, as its homophone is “eagle.”  The Doctor is either a bird, being a proxy of Zeus, or Zeus, himself.  Zeus’s Roman equivalent is Jupiter.  In Norse mythology, Odin is the chief god.  He’s not a one-to-one correspondence, though, to Zeus and Jupiter, like the typical Greek and Roman gods are to each other.  Odin, among other things, is also a god of war like Mars.  He’s a tyrannical leader who is not concerned with justice, and this sounds like Morbius, who may be the possessed Doctor.  

Odin, too, was a shape-shifter and turned himself into an eagle.  It’s one of his many disguises.

##  **Valkyrie Has Multiple Meanings**

The Martian probe _Valkyrie_ , while probing the Martian ice caps, is named for multiple references.

####  **Operation Valkyrie & “Let’s Kill Hitler”**

Operation Valkyrie was a German plan during WWII to assassinate Hitler, take control of German cities, disarm the SS, and arrest the Nazi leadership.  Although the participants made lengthy preparations, the plot failed.  Of course, this also refers to the 11th Doctor episode “Let’s Kill Hitler,” where River was engineered to kill the Doctor.  Of course, that lengthy plot failed, too, at least for the time being.

In “The Lie of the Land,” we saw the Doctor involved in a totalitarian government with the Truth logo, which looked like it could be a type of Nazi logo with an SS (mirrored Ss).  Interestingly, Daleks were created as symbols of the Nazis.

####  **Valkyries of Norse Mythology**

In Norse mythology, valkyries are female figures who decide the fate of those who die in battle.  

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie):

> Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"). When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses.

Ravens and horses are certainly significant.  In fact, ravens are indirectly referenced at least 4 times in the current story.  We’ll examine more about the raven in a few minutes.  And we’ll look at them in more depth in regards to Clara and the Doctor in the next chapter.

Valkyries today tend to be romanticized in a way, but in heathen times, they were more sinister and sound like they have a connection to the 12 Monks.  [According to Norse-Mythology.org](http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/valkyries/):

> The meaning of their name, “choosers of the slain,” refers not only to their choosing who gains admittance to Valhalla, but also to their choosing who dies in battle and using malicious magic to ensure that their preferences in this regard are brought to fruition. Examples of valkyries deciding who lives and who dies abound in the Eddas and sagas. The valkyries’ gruesome side is illustrated most vividly in the Darraðarljóð, a poem contained within Njal’s Saga. Here, twelve valkyries are seen prior to the Battle of Clontarf, sitting at a loom and weaving the tragic destiny of the warriors (an activity highly reminiscent of the Norns). They use intestines for their thread, severed heads for weights, and swords and arrows for beaters, all the while chanting their intentions with ominous delight. The Saga of the Volsungs compares beholding a valkyrie to “staring into a flame.”

The Norns sound very similar to the 3 Fates, which we examined in [my analysis in TPEW](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11073279), where I likened the Monks to weaving a tapestry and compared them to the 3 Fates who weave destinies.  It seems likely then that the 12 Monks may symbolize the 12 Valkyries, who are weaving the tragic destiny to come.

####  **Valhalla & the Cloister Wraiths**

Valhalla is a the hall where the dead are deemed worthy of dwelling with Odin, and it’s located on Asgard, which brings in the references to the Doctor and River picnicking on Asgard.  This picnic entry in River’s diary came up in “Silence in the Library,” as well as “The Husbands of River Song.”

Wolves guard Valhalla’s gates, and eagles fly above it.

[According to Norse-Mythology.org](http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/odin/):

> Odin presides over Valhalla, the most prestigious of the dwelling-places of the dead. After every battle, he and his helping-spirits, the valkyries (“choosers of the fallen”), comb the field and take their pick of half of the slain warriors to carry back to Valhalla. (Freya then claims the remaining half.)

[According to Norse-Mythology.org](http://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/valhalla/):

> The dead who reside in Valhalla, the einherjar, live a life that would have been the envy of any Viking warrior. All day long, they fight one another, doing countless valorous deeds along the way. But every evening, all their wounds are healed, and they are restored to full health. They surely work up quite an appetite from all those battles, and their dinners don’t disappoint. Their meat comes from the boar Saehrimnir (Old Norse Sæhrímnir, whose meaning is unknown), who comes back to life every time he is slaughtered and butchered. For their drink they have mead that comes from the udder of the goat Heidrun (Old Norse Heiðrun, whose meaning is unknown). They thereby enjoy an endless supply of their exceptionally fine food and drink. They are waited on by the beautiful Valkyries.
> 
> But the einherjar won’t live this charmed life forever. Valhalla’s battle-honed residents are there by the will of Odin, who collects them for the perfectly selfish purpose of having them come to his aid in his fated struggle against the wolf Fenrir during Ragnarök – a battle in which Odin and the einherjar are doomed to die.

From what we’ve seen in “Hell Bent,” the Cloister Wraiths are, at least in one way, like the dead who reside in Valhalla.  As the Doctor said, they are the dead manning the battlements.  We may be experiencing the unreality of the symbolic Valhalla right now.  The relative calm before the Ragnarök storm.

####  **The Ice Queen Mirroring a Valkyrie or Odin**

The Ice Queen, Iraxxa, decided who died and who lived, especially when it came to Colonel Godsacre.  (God’s acre actually means “a churchyard or a cemetery, especially one adjacent to a church.”)  Therefore, Iraxxa is mirroring a Valkyrie or even Odin, given her position of leader of the hive.  

####  **Odin, Ravens & the Valkyries**

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin), 

> In Germanic mythology, Odin is a widely revered god.  In Norse mythology, from which stems most of the information about the god, Odin is associated with healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, battle, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, Odin was known in Old English as Wōden, in Old Saxon as Wōdan, and in Old High German as Wuotan or Wōtan, all stemming from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic theonym wōđanaz.

BTW, WOTAN is a reference to a 1st Doctor story called “The War Machines.”  According to the [TARDIS Wikia](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/WOTAN), “WOTAN was one of the first artificial intelligences created on Earth by Professor Brett. Its name stood for Will Operating Thought ANalogue.”  It goes on to say, “Deciding to conquer the world, WOTAN ordered the construction of mobile, armed computers which were designated War Machines. These were constructed in locations across London.”

Anyway, according to [WizardRealm.com](http://www.wizardrealm.com/norse/gods.html):

> Odin (or, depending upon the dialect Woden or Wotan) was the Father of all the Gods and men.  Odhinn is pictured either wearing a winged helm or a floppy hat, and a blue-grey cloak.  He can travel to any realm within the 9 Nordic worlds.  His two ravens, Huginn and Munin (Thought and Memory) fly over the world daily and return to tell him everything that has happened in Midgard.  He is a God of magick, wisdom, wit, and learning. He too is a psychopomp; a chooser of those slain in battle.  In later times, he was associated with war and bloodshed from the Viking perspective, although in earlier times, no such association was present.  

Interestingly, Odin has ravens.  And this is another example of how “The Empress of Mars” has quite a few indirect references to ravens.  Because Clara is associated with a raven, it brings up a reference to her, too.  However, there are very pointed Clara references, which we’ll examine in the next chapter.

Being the god of magic, wisdom, wit, and learning, Odin has a lot in common with Merlin.  Odin actually disguises himself as an old man and travels Midgard (Earth) looking for heroes for the coming of Ragnarök.

According to [WizardRealm.com](http://www.wizardrealm.com/norse/gods.html):

> If anything, the wars fought by Odhinn exist strictly upon the Mental plane of awareness; appropriate for that of such a mentally polarized God.  He is both the shaper of Wyrd and the bender of Orlog; again, a task only possible through the power of Mental thought and impress.  It is he who sacrifices an eye at the well of Mimir to gain inner wisdom, and later hangs himself upon the World Tree Yggdrasil to gain the knowledge and power of the Runes.  All of his actions are related to knowledge, wisdom, and the dissemination of ideas and concepts to help Mankind.  Because there is duality in all logic and wisdom, he is seen as being duplicitous; this is illusory and it is through his actions that the best outcomes are conceived and derived.  Just as a point of curiosity:  in no other pantheon is the head Deity also the God of Thought and Logic.  It's interesting to note that the Norse/Teutonic peoples also set such a great importance upon brainwork and logic.  The day Wednesday (Wodensdaeg) is named for him.

It’s really interesting that Odin’s wars are fought on the “Mental plane of awareness.”  This corresponds to the Doctor being a creature of pure thought through the Great Work.  This also corresponds to him being a mirror of CAL, who is also a being of pure thought in a mental plane of awareness.

####  **Odin & the Doctor**

In “The Girl Who Died,” the Doctor pretended to be Odin when the Vikings took him and Clara captive.  We then saw another extraterrestrial claiming to be Odin, shown below.  His helmet is obviously symbolic in some ways of a bird.  Are the wings those of an eagle or a raven?  There are symbolic feathers on the top of the helmet, too, but that’s where the similarities to a bird end.    


The crest looks more like something a Roman soldier would wear on his helmet.  And then there’s the weird part covering his forehead that looks like 2 eyes and a nose.  Is the representation supposed to be 2 faces in One?  The symbolic eyes are empty, perhaps, representing The Ghost.  Odin is a dark mirror of the Doctor, and it seems to me from the symbolism that Odin represents the possessed Doctor, who has an augmented eye.  That could be a reference to the Eye of Harmony.

The Doctor actually does more than just pretend to be Odin in this episode.  Like Odin in mythology, the Doctor decides life and death here.  He assumes Odin’s role.  Ashildr dies, and the Doctor literally brings her back to life, another signal of the coming of Ragnarök.  Clara represents a valkyrie, the Doctor’s helping spirit.  

But this isn’t all.  Extraterrestrial (ET) Odin in “The Girl Who Died” has a connection to the “Robot of Sherwood.”  The sheriff’s boar emblem looks very much like ET Odin’s helmet when placed behind someone’s head.  Check out this image below of the arrow bearer in this perfectly centered camera shot where the emblem of the boar’s ears (yellow arrow) now looks like the wings on Odin’s helmet.  


In fact, the sheriff looks a lot like Odin without the helmet.

Interestingly, we have seen a character in TRODM, Lucy Fletcher, whose name means arrow maker or to furnish (an arrow) with a feather.  Through all the mirrors we’ve examined, she connects to Amy, who connects to River.  Susan connects to River, too.  And River may connect to Missy.  We know Missy has been controlling the Doctor through Clara, and she’s running a con game now.  

**Who’s Behind Controlling the TARDIS?**  
Check out the image below in the darkened TARDIS when Nardole goes to get some gear to help Bill after she falls into the pit.  The bookcase is lit, which is very abnormal.  And it’s only one bookcase in particular.  This indicates it’s River.  


In fact, interestingly, Missy has 2 faces when we first see her at the end of “The Empress of Mars.”  The blue arrow points to her face that looks like it’s inside the TARDIS, while the yellow arrow points to her other face.  The TARDIS symbolizes the Doctor’s wife and the Doctor’s mind.  


The Doctor is being controlled by his wife is what part of the subtext is pointing to.  We saw in [“The Lie of the Land” analysis](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11162721) that with the 2nd Doctor story “The Mind Robber,” where the Master was the author who controlled things in the same way River controlled things in “The Angels Take Manhattan” with her novel.  We know River is one of the architects of the rescue plan.

##  **Friday Has a Norse Connection**

Of course, the name Friday comes from _Robinson Crusoe_.  However, given the plot along with Friday’s name, appearance, and references, there are other allusions intended, too, making Friday a brilliant name with overloaded meanings.

####  **Friday & Odin**

“Friday,” as the actual day of the week, is named after Odin’s wife.  In Old English, her name is Frīge, so it’s "Frīge's day."  Other spellings, according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigg), are Frigg (Old Norse), Frija (Old High German), and Frea (Langobardic).

So the character Friday automatically has a connection to Odin and can represent Odin’s wife.  However, there’s more.  

Like Friday, Odin has one eye.

In fact, [according to Norse-Mythology.org](http://norse-mythology.org/tales/why-odin-is-one-eyed/):

> Odin’s quest for wisdom is never-ending, and he is willing to pay any price, it seems, for the understanding of life’s mysteries that he craves more than anything else. On one occasion, he hanged himself, wounded himself with his spear, and fasted from food and drink for nine days and nights in order to discover the runes.
> 
> On another occasion, he ventured to Mimir’s Well – which is surely none other than the Well of Urd – amongst the roots of the world-tree Yggdrasil. There dwelt Mimir, a shadowy being whose knowledge of all things was practically unparalleled among the inhabitants of the cosmos. He achieved this status largely by taking his water from the well, whose waters impart this cosmic knowledge.
> 
> When Odin arrived, he asked Mimir for a drink from the water. The well’s guardian, knowing the value of such a draught, refused unless the seeker offered an eye in return. Odin – whether straightaway or after anguished deliberation, we can only wonder – gouged out one of his eyes and dropped it into the well. Having made the necessary sacrifice, Mimir dipped his horn into the well and offered the now-one-eyed god a drink.

Odin’s story of trading an eye for a different type of perception and knowledge meshes with the concepts of the Eye of Harmony and the Matrix.  We’ve examined how the Matrix gives the gift of prophecy.

> **ENGIN** : Yes. Trillions of electrochemical cells in a continuous matrix. The cells are the repository of departed Time Lords. At the moment of death, an electrical scan is made of the brain pattern and these millions of impulses are immediately transferred to the  
>  **DOCTOR** : Shush. I understand the theory. What's the function?  
>  **ENGIN** : Well, to monitor life in the Capitol. We use all this combined knowledge and experience to predict future developments.

And the Eye of Harmony from TRODM clearly has to do with the Matrix.  The Eye, as the 8th Doctor said in the movie, is his.

> **DOCTOR** : Lee, this is my Tardis. This is my Eye and I'm in my own body. The Master has run out of all his lives. Now he plans to steal mine. That's the truth!

Anyway, in Friday’s case, because he defers to Iraxxa, he symbolically could represent Odin in disguise as an old man.  After all, he did tell the Doctor:

> **DOCTOR** : Why have you really come back?  
>  **FRIDAY** : (sigh) I am old and tired and spent.

The reversed roles of the queen and Friday could also possibly be explained through the gender change.

####  **Friday & _The Vikings_**

After the Doctor and Bill discuss the Ice Warrior, Bill mentions a movie and an eye gouging when Friday is present, tying the movie to Friday.

> **DOCTOR** : Yes. The indigenous species. An ancient reptilian race. They built themselves a sort of bio-mechanical armour for protection. The creature within is at one with its carapace. The Ice Warriors. They could build a city under the sand, yet drench the snows of Mars with innocent blood. They could slaughter whole civilisations, yet weep at the crushing of a flower.  
>  **BILL** : Like _The Vikings_.  
>  **DOCTOR** : Yes. Yes, very much.  
>  **BILL** : Yeah, Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. Oh, the theme tune is amazing! There's this brilliant bit where his eye gets gouged out  
>  (Friday stops and Bill notices the missing eye.)

Friday’s missing eye resembles that of Kirk Douglas’ character in the 1958 movie _The Vikings_.  

[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vikings_\(1958_film\)) says

> The King of Northumbria is killed during a Viking raid led by the fearsome Ragnar (Ernest Borgnine). Because the king had died childless, his cousin Aella (Frank Thring) takes the throne. The king's widow, however, is pregnant with what she knows is Ragnar's child because he had raped her during that fateful raid, and to protect the infant from her cousin-in-law's ambitions, she sends him off to Italy. By a twist of fate, the ship is intercepted by the Vikings, who are unaware of the child's kinship, and enslave him.

BTW, the queen sends the child with the monks.

Many years later, we see that the boy has grown into a young man named Erik (Tony Curtis), who is still a slave.  After some events take place, Erik in retaliation orders his falcon to attack Einar (Kirk Douglas), Ragnar's legitimate son and heir.  The falcon gouges out Einar’s left eye.  

The enmity between the half brothers is exacerbated when they both fall in love with the same woman, Princess Morgana, who is to marry King Aella but gets captured in a raid.  In a way, this is like the 11th and 12th Doctors with River.  BTW, I forgot to mention this, but the Doctor in Missy’s execution scene in “Extremis” and in the scenes in “The Lie of the Land” wears an old raggedy coat, which would represent the 11th Doctor.  In fact, the 11th Doctor’s theme music does play in the latter episode.

Anyway, at one point Aella captures Ragnar and, according to Wikipedia, “orders the Viking leader bound and thrown into a pit filled with starved wolves. To give Ragnar a Viking's death (so that he can enter Valhalla), Erik, who is granted the honour of forcing him into the pit, cuts the prisoner's bonds and gives him his sword. Laughing, Ragnar jumps to his death. In response to Erik's "treason", Aella cuts off his left hand, puts him back on his ship and casts him adrift.”

(Amy cuts off Rorybot’s hands in “The Girl Who Waited.”  Rorybot is sentient.  So is this movie scene significant to the story?)

In the end, Erik and Einar fight for Morgana, and Erik mortally wounds Einar.  Wikipedia says, “Echoing the scene with Ragnar, Erik gives Einar a sword, so that he too can enter Valhalla. In the final scene, Einar is given a Viking funeral: his body is placed on a longship, which is set on fire by flaming arrows.”

Friday not only represents Einar with his eye gouged out, but also Erik, as a servant.

Erik is a hybrid, half-Northumbrian and half-Viking, mirroring the hybrid nature of the Doctor. 

Also, it’s interesting that Erik and Einar are half brothers because I’ve wondered for quite some time if the Master and Doctor were brothers (as was originally planned in Classic Who) or half brothers.  The idea that the Doctor has a half brother has come up in the subtext before.  In fact, it most likely relates to Castor and Pollux, which we’ll look at below.

The idea of Valhalla and a Viking funeral for the Doctor is important for several reasons.  The first is that Rory gave the Doctor a Viking funeral in “The Impossible Astronaut” after River killed him.  (Interestingly, though, there is a hidden face of the Doctor’s in the reflection in River’s helmet.  Things didn’t quite happen the way they appeared.)

The ideas of Valhalla and a Viking funeral lead to redemption for the Doctor and his fate.  We’ll look at this more in the next chapter when we examine the Victorians.

####  **The First Time We See Friday**

The first time we see Friday, something curious takes place.  The Ice Warrior comes toward the Doctor in a threatening manner.  However, the Doctor diffuses the situation with an Ice Warrior greeting.  

> **DOCTOR** : I know your people of old. I was once an Honorary Guardian of the Tythonian Hive.  
>  (A rifle bolt is moved.) 

However, we then hear Godsacre’s voice, and he says and does something curious.

> **GODSACRE** : Don't move. I'll sort this beggar out.  
>  (A red-coat with white pith helmet is pointing what ought to be a Martini-Henry breech loading rifle at them.)  
>  **DOCTOR** : No, no, no, no! You don't understand. This creature is no threat. He may look like a monster to you  
>  (A rifle shot at the Doctor's feet makes him jump back.)  
>  **GODSACRE** : I wasn't talking to you. Are you all right, Friday?

The Doctor is portrayed as the monster here, not Friday.  To make that clear, the Doctor even says, “He may look like a monster to you…”  

This really is interesting behavior, especially since the Doctor looks human here in this altered reality.  What does he really look like?

####  **Friday, the Doctor & Shakespeare’s _Henry V_**

Since the Doctor is metaphorically Shakespeare, it seems as though there may be another connection with both the Doctor, Friday, and _Henry V_.  Since they can be a symbol of Odin, walking through Midgard in disguise, they could also symbolically be King Henry V, who disguises himself as a commoner and walks around camp, where nobody recognizes him as the king.

Actually, we already saw this type of thing with Queen Liz 10 in “The Beast Below,” where she walked around with her mask on, not wanting to be recognized.  Therefore, we should expect that something like this is happening now.

If the Doctor has been possessed, mind controlled, or some other type of usurpation, then there is a disguise of sorts going on.

##  **Castor & Pollux: The Master/Missy & the Doctor?**

Are the Master/Missy and the Doctor mirrors of Castor and Pollux from Greek and Roman mythology?  The references have come up in the subtext before, and it seems appropriate to consider this since the plan in Classic Who was to have the Master and the Doctor be brothers.  However, once Roger Delgado, the 1st Master, died in a car crash, the plans never came to fruition.  In fact, the 3rd Doctor, Jon Pertwee, who was good friends with Delgado, left DW because of Delgado’s death.

Anyway, there are multiple versions of the Castor and Pollux myth, where they could be brothers or half brothers, depending on the version.  Since _The Vikings_ refers to half brothers, I’ll concentrate on that version.

Castor and Pollux were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi.  According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux):

> Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters or half-sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.
> 
> In Latin the twins are also known as the Gemini or Castores. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire, and were also associated with horsemanship.

There was a common belief that one child would live among the gods, while the other was among the dead.  That’s interesting since the Doctor is associated in multiple ways with ghosts.

Anyway, here’s yet another reference to Zeus.  We know the Doctor has been cast as either a proxy to Zeus or Zeus, himself.  However, there are multiple versions of the Doctor.  Is one the father and one the son while a third is a ghost?  Like in the Trinity?

We also see other important references.  We know horses are important.  Sailors could also possibly refer to space and time travelers.  And the topic of eggs comes up a lot.  For example, we saw the moon as an egg in “Kill the Moon.”  Missy, too, mentioned that Nardole looks like and egg in “The Lie of the Land”:

> **MISSY** : You haven't been to see me in six months. No-one has! Not even that bald bloke who looks like an egg.

However, eggs also come up in other episodes, like the 9th Doctor episode, “The End of the World,” which we looked at in the [analysis of “The Lie of the Land.”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11162721)  And there’s an indirect reference to eggs in “The Empress of Mars” where the Doctor mentions “Tythonian Hive” when he meets Friday.

> **DOCTOR** : By the moons, I honour thee. I'm the Doctor. What is your name?  
>  (The Ice Warrior growls. He has one eye missing and a scrape across the helmet nose guard.)  
>  **DOCTOR** : I know your people of old. I was once an Honorary Guardian of the Tythonian Hive.  
>  (A rifle bolt is moved.)

The Tythonian Hive reference, BTW, makes no sense when relating it to Ice Warriors.  The term refers to the 4th Doctor episode “The Creature from the Pit.”  However, there are other important pieces of information in that episode.  For example, it also refers to a pit, which Bill happens to fall into in “The Empress of Mars.”  

**“The Creature from the Pit,” the Egg & the Y symbol**  
I had never seen “The Creature from the Pit” before, so I was surprised when I watched it that there were no hives or references to Ice Warriors.  I haven’t seen this happen before with a reference that didn’t make sense, but obviously, we are supposed to get other things out of that reference.

When it comes to this episode, many things don’t make sense.  There is a giant structure that looks like a flat wall, but the Doctor calls it an egg and eggshell and says it’s alive:

> **ADRASTA** : Yes. My huntsman heard you say that the shell was alive.  
>  **DOCTOR** : Alive and screaming in pain.  
>  **ADRASTA** : The shell? Then why can no one hear it?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Because it can only be detected on very low frequency wavelengths.  
>  **ADRASTA** : What's the shell screaming about?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Ah. More to the point, for whom is it screaming? Its mummy? By the pyramids, imagine the size of its mummy.

Not only is it an egg, but here’s something once again that is looking possibly for it’s mummy, like “The Empty Child.”  Also, it’s screaming but can’t be heard like the Star Whale in “The Beast Below.”  Both the Empty Child and the Star Whale are metaphors for the Doctor.

Nardole is associated with an egg, just like the Doctor is with the moon as an egg concept.  And Nardole is an unactualized mirror for the Doctor.  The egg also symbolizes going back to the beginning.  This meshes with other things we’ve examined like how the universe was only 23 million years old in “The Pilot.”  Also, the Doctor’s timeline is going backwards, and we see that in the opening credits.

In “The Creature from the Pit,” there’s also a pit, of course, with a creature in it.  The Doctor actually jumps into the pit, like the 10th Doctor jumped into the pit in “The Satan Pit.”  Both find gigantic creatures.  Bill falls into the pit in “The Empress of Mars” and finds a gigantic hive and the sinister Captain Catchlove.

However, the 4th Doctor calls the creature a giant brain.  Um… this doesn’t make sense, either.

Here’s what the TARDIS Wikia says

> The Tythonians were massive, blob-like organisms, sometimes hundreds of feet long. They were glowing green and had an outer membrane that was deeply creased. They had no true limbs, but had two large pseudopods. One pseudopod was shaped like the letter Y, while the other was simply a large tube. They had no vocal cords and communicated with the aid of Tythonian communicators. Tythonians could live for forty thousand years.  

The Y shape refers to a plague of deaths.  The humanoids throw people down into the pit for the creature to eat.

While this all is important, I also see the whole pit and creature reference important, which refer back to “The Satan Pit” and the war for freedom from slavery.  The 4th Doctor does help free the creature in the pit, who actually doesn’t eat people.

Therefore, this episode is hugely symbolic of what is happening in Season 10; however, not by the Tythonian Hive reference.

##  **Living Underground As a Theme**

Not only do the Ice Warriors live underground, but the Silurians do too, as we saw in the 11th Doctor episodes “The Hungry Earth” and “Cold Blood.”  In the 1st Dalek story, “The Daleks,” the Daleks also live underground.  The creature in “The Creature from the Pit” and the Beast in “The Satan Pit” also live underground.  

In all these cases, it’s not really by choice.  They are forced to live underground because conditions on the surface are problematic, or the creatures are imprisoned underground.

It’s interesting that on Gallifrey everything looks dead, as far as the landscape is concerned.  The Doctor and Master talked about how it used to be beautiful with grass, trees, etc.  While people live in the doomed city, where do they get their food from?  Of course, we are only seeing a small portion of the planet, but it still makes me wonder.

Skaro looks much the same.

**Tunnels & _The Thing_**

Interestingly, Bill mentions the movie _The Thing_ , tunnels, and how the Doctor would like the movie because everyone dies.  The latter seems really odd for the Doctor we know, unless we consider the Doctor as the mirror to alternate-Donna in “Turn Left.”  Both have to die, along with the parallel world.  The Master, Morbius, the Valeyard, and some others would also like to see everyone die.

> **BILL** : (walking away) Oh, it's like the underground tunnels in The Thing.  
>  **DOCTOR** : The what?  
>  **BILL** : It's a movie. You'd like that one too. Everybody dies.

There are several movie versions of _The Thing_.  In the 1982 version, the setting is in Antarctica, which fits the Ice Warriors.  Where is the ice for the Ice Warriors anyway?  The setting is reminiscent of “The Planet of the Ood” and the large brain found on the ice.  Also, it also is the setting of “The Seeds of Doom,” another 4th Doctor usurpation story that we looked at.

The creature from a crashed spaceship can perfectly duplicate other beings, like “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion.”  This creates a very similar situation that we saw in “Midnight,” where at first Skye got possessed and people freaked out.  The being then possessed the Doctor, and they freaked out even more.  It was mob mentality and a witchhunt, just like the movie.  And they turned on each other.

This also brings in the idea of “Love & Monsters,” the 10th Doctor episode where Victor Kennedy/The Abzorbaloff, absorbs people into his body.

Here are more themes that are being repeated.

##  **The Next Chapter**

In the next chapter, we’ll examine the Victorians and how Clara fits in in multiple ways, along with the ravens.  I’ll show you what I call collective symbolism vs. individual symbolism.


	3. Clara, Ravens, Victoria(ns), Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Victorians give us a lot of information. I'll show you examples of what I mean by faces of the Doctor, as well as collective and individual symbolism.
> 
> Season 10 spoiler warnings

[[For images, see my tumblr chapter]](http://tardisgirlepic.tumblr.com/post/161969611233/ch-3-the-empress-of-mars-analysis-doctor-who/)

**NOTE:**  
TPEW = “The Pyramid at the End of the World”  
TRODM = “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”  
THORS = “The Husbands of River Song”  
CAL = Charlotte Abigail Lux, the little girl from the Library  
TOS = The Original Series of _Star Trek_  
TNG = _Star Trek: The Next Generation_

##  **Clara Has to Come Back**

As we’ve seen in the previous chapters of this analysis, several indirect references to ravens have come up.  They are references to Clara and her death.  However, there are more substantial references to cover with additional symbology.  For example, one of the actors from Jenna Coleman’s _Victoria_ series shows up in “The Empress of Mars.”  We’ll examine what that means.

On top of all of those references, there are several other issues that need to be resolved, regarding Clara and ravens.  The Doctor has to complete the Great Work to be rescued.  And by definition of the Great Work, he has to remember Clara.  She has to show up somehow.  What happened with her existence breaking the web of time?  That has to be resolved, too.

We first examined why Clara has to come back in [Chapter 13 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/20596189).  My reasoning hasn’t changed, and all the raven references point to Clara coming back.  One of the important topics in Chapter 13 refers to “Face the Raven” and the Birdcage metaphor with the djinni symbol and what this represents.  It points to yet another issue that needs to be resolved.

Before we take a deeper look at Clara, the references to her, and the issues to resolve, we need to take a look at the Victorians because one of the men is named for the crow family, which includes ravens.  Also, we need to look at the symbology of ravens and how they fit with the rest of the subtext. ****

##  **The Victorian Men & What They Tell Us About the Doctor**

Except for Colonial Godsacre and Captain Catchlove, the enlisted men are wearing 24s on their epaulettes or shoulder marks (yellow arrow) of their uniforms.  Hopefully, the terms “epaulettes” and “shoulder marks” are correct for their Victorian uniforms.  


####  **The Enlisted Men**

People associated with numbers like the 24s are faces of the Doctor, in this case the 24th Doctor.  They all represent some aspect of him, collectively and individually.  

**Collective Symbolism**  
Collective symbolism is a term I use to refer to a group of people or objects that are meant to function as a whole, like all the enlisted men.  They are a unit.  In fact, the Trinity acts the same way where 3 people are One.  In the case of the men, they are all faces of the Doctor, so collectively they symbolize several things.  

First, like the usurped Doctor, they are under the command of someone else – in this case, the captain, instead of the figurehead colonel.  

Second, the men represent instruments of the exploitive system of colonialism.  There certainly are episodes, like “Planet of the Ood,” where the Doctor in subtext is part of an imperialistic system, and we’ve certainly seen a totalitarian one in canon within “The Lie of the Land,” where the Doctor was the face of the government.  

Third, we can assume, for the most part, that they volunteered.  Both young Grant in TRODM and Subject 6 in “A Town Called Mercy” prequel are Doctor mirrors, and both volunteered for something but didn’t know the ramifications.  

Fourth, like the Doctor, the men may be doing things that go against their individual values, like Vincey, whom we’ll talk about below.  Also, we saw this with Subject 6, who became Kahler-Tek.  He never would have chosen being turned into a cyborg-killing machine, but he was conned into believing he was going to be on a peacekeeping mission.  I’m specifically bringing this up because Bill brought up killer robots and _The Terminator_ , which are very similar to Kahler-Tek.

After the war, with anger and vengeance Kahler-Tek set out to assassinate those who turned him into a killing machine.  Playing multiple parts, the Doctor, however, was also a mirror of the man who turned Subject 6 into a cyborg.

 **Individual Symbolism**  
Individual symbolism is a term I use to refer to individuals within a group that functions as a whole.  Individually, 3 of the enlisted men are highlighted in the episode: Vincey, Jackdaw, and Sergeant Major Peach, who plays a small but significant part.  

**Vincey** , because he is a different race from the other men, mirrors the Doctor living among humans.  And Vincey, wanting to marry a woman of a different race, exemplifies the Doctor wanting to marry a human.  Sadly, Catchlove uses Vincey as a human shield to save himself from the Ice Warrior weapons.  We don’t see the weapon blast hit Vincey, unlike all the other men.  Instead, we only see a shadow on the wall, which is significant, before we see his final ball form.  He dies and becomes a ghost before he gets to marry the woman he loves.  He represents the child Doctor who got usurped by some other stronger power.

 **Jackdaw** is an interesting name.  It’s a member of the crow family, which includes ravens, so here is a direct reference to ravens.  He represents some of the worst traits of imperialism and just humanity in general.  He’s insubordinate in that he not only defies Sergeant Major Peach’s orders not to go near the Ice Queen’s tomb, but also he drugs Peach, going beyond the initial insubordination.  Here’s another instance of usurping control from the rightful owner.

He’s greedy and steals a blue crystal from the queen’s sarcophagus.  This is retelling of how the 3rd Doctor stole the blue crystal on Metebelis III in “The Planet of the Spiders,” which we examined in [my analysis of “Knock Knock.”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10893537)  The 3rd Doctor didn’t know he was stealing anything because he went into a cave, saw a crystal, and took it, not realizing the spiders would want it back in the future.

That aside, we learned in that story that the 3rd Doctor caused all the problems between the spiders and humans; in the same way that Jackdaw caused the conflict between the Ice Warriors and the humans.  Both cases are caused by greed.  However, in the Doctor’s case, it’s a different type of greed.

In [“Planet of the Spiders,”](http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/11-5.htm) we learn about the Doctor’s harmful quest:

> **SARAH** : Oh, I don't understand. You're not saying they've taken over the Doctor, are you?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Oh no, Sarah, no. No, he's talking about my greed.  
>  **SARAH** : Greed? You?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Yes, my greed for knowledge, for information. He's saying that all this is basically my fault. If I hadn't taken the crystal in the first place. I know who you are now.

So here the Doctor’s greed for knowledge sounds just like Odin.

Since Jackdaw represents the Doctor (or a usurper of the Doctor) and the Doctor’s greed comes up in multiple ways, this suggests it’s the Doctor and/or his usurper who caused this alternate reality beyond this episode.

Cowardice may also be at work since the 12th Doctor wasn’t with River in the Library before she died, causing looped time with the Doctor as a slave to love.

 **Sergeant Major Peach** , while not nearly as fleshed out as Vincey and Jackdaw, plays the important role of being part of the triad.  Since Jackdaw drugs him, he represents the sleeping Doctor, who lost command, letting the greedy part take over.  This may mean Jackdaw also represents the Valeyard, the Master, or even the human version of the Doctor.

Peach’s drugging is also an example of how Jackdaw puts Sergeant Major Peach to sleep and makes Vincey an unwilling accomplish to the insubordination and criminal activity.  It’s also an example of how Vincey volunteered, most likely, for the army, but is getting more than he bargained for, like young Grant and Subject 6. 

####  **Colonel Godsacre & Captain Catchlove**

We’ve examined Godsacre’s cowardice.  Interestingly, he has a rope around his neck (red arrow), which is part of his uniform.  However, it serves 2 other purposes.  The Y shape symbolizes a plague cross: a plague created by cowardice and fear.  Second, it symbolizes the noose around his neck: the noose from the past and also his impending death.   


As Captain Catchlove states, there is a mistaken identity regarding Godsacre.  He is not, as commonly thought, a hero of the Battle of Isandlwana.  The Zulu’s wiped out the H Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Foot, and the British suffered a major defeat.  So, here, once again, we have a case of mistaken identity, which has become a theme.  

I’m not familiar with British army designations, but I find the use of 24 in “The Empress of Mars” interesting, given the 24th Foot’s fate.  If they are the same, they all represent ghosts, which wouldn’t be surprising at all.  They are in the Library metaphor as disembodied minds, which suggests their bodies are dead.

Regarding the image above, Catchlove, as well, has a rope around his neck although it’s darker (blue arrow) so not as obvious.  It mirrors Catchlove’s own role as a plague carrier, a hidden coward whose death is pending.

Godsacre is a mirror of the Doctor and Master, where both have run away from leadership.  Godsacre ends up executing Catchlove after the captain takes a hostage and threatens everyone’s safety.  Then, the colonel says something interesting about the usurper.

> **GODSACRE** : That man was not one of us. Please, do not judge mankind by his cruelty or indeed by my cowardice. Spare my friends and my world.

Godsacre makes it clear that Catchlove was cruel, but I find the statement “That man was not one of us” most interesting.  Catchlove represents the person controlling the Doctor.  And “Not one of us” suggests an alien, and so does the helmet with all the eyeholes.

I see killing Catchglove as a symbol where the Doctor finally takes control back and rids himself of the usurper.

####  **Godsacre, Friday, the Doctor, Valhalla & Redemption**

Godsacre’s words and actions in this whole scene are really those of the Doctor, which is evident at the end.  He gives the Ice Warrior salute after agreeing that he knew this would happen.  He thinks like a warrior:

> **GODSACRE** : That man was not one of us. Please, do not judge mankind by his cruelty or indeed by my cowardice. Spare my friends and my world.  
>  **IRAXXA** : Your request does you credit, soldier. It will be considered.  
>  (She powers up her weapon.)  
>  **GODSACRE** : God save the Queen.  
>  **SOLDIERS** : God save the Queen!  
>  **IRAXXA** : You will die with honour, with bravery, and in the service of those you swore to protect.  
>  **GODSACRE** : Thank you. You don't know what that means. Thank you.  
>  **IRAXXA** : But not today. In battle, soldier. To die in battle is the way of the warrior. Pledge your allegiance to me and my world, and I will ensure you have the opportunity.  
>  **GODSACRE** : My life and my service are yours. (kneels) To the end.  
>  **IRAXXA** : To the death, my friend. To the death.  
>  (The Ice Warriors salute him.)  
>  **BILL** : You knew that would happen.  
>  **DOCTOR** : Always been my problem.  
>  **BILL** : What?  
>  **DOCTOR** : Thinking like a warrior.  
>  (He makes the Ice Warrior salute, and the lift doors close on the scene.)

Dying with honor and bravery is what Valhalla is about, at least from a warrior’s point of view.  And Valhalla is a symbol of redemption.

In this scene, we see the promise of redemption for the Doctor, and he has pledged himself to die in battle for the queen.  And that matches the symbolism we first looked at in [Chapter 18 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/23517906), regarding the fall of Nelson’s column in the Season 8 episode “In the Forest of the Night,” representing the fall of the Doctor.  Admiral Nelson was mortally wounded in a battle, foreshadowing the Doctor’s end.  It also represents Clara’s fall, since she was also there when the column fell.  Her fall means she has to go back to Gallifrey.  

It’s clear from all the mirroring that Friday is also meant to be a mirror of Odin.  In fact, just as Iraxxa symbolically chooses Colonel Godsacre for Ragnarök, Friday also metaphorically chooses the Doctor for Ragnarök when Friday asks for help in the brig.  As the Doctor is also a mirror of Godsacre, Iraxxa symbolically also chooses the Doctor.

To be more accurate, I believe the whole thing with gender bending and Friday being both a namesake of Odin’s wife, as well as having Odin traits, is that he is symbolic of being multiple creatures in one.  This connects to being like a Janus with 2 faces.  

However, going beyond the concept of duality is unification, which we’ve examined in multiple ways.  It’s the goal of the Trinity operating as one, and it’s the goal of the Great Work where the Doctor has to become one with the universe.  Therefore, it’s interesting that he said of Friday and the Ice Warriors:

> **DOCTOR** : The creature within is at one with its carapace. 

And this connects to the idea of 2 beings of opposite qualities (male/female, night/day, etc.) coming together to create a unified being that represents the Trinity as well as the One.  In Friday’s case, it would be Odin and his wife coming together in a unified manner to form a Trinity, as well as a unified being.  In fact, to show us this symbolically, Bill took Friday’s hand.  It represents an integration of 3 beings: 2 faces of Friday and 1 from Bill.  While Bill represents other integrations, they are not important here. 

It comes back to the body, mind, and spirit being one, which is exactly where the Doctor has to be to become one with the universe.  Therefore, Friday, as a Doctor mirror, represents the unactualized potential of the Doctor, where he has to become one with himself.  Right now, he is imprisoned by the duality within himself.

The concept of Oneness also represents Valhalla and redemption.  However, the Doctor can’t be One with himself with missing memories.

##  **Raven Symbolism**

Depending on the culture, ravens have different symbolism.  Because ravens are black and eat carrion, in some cultures they are inauspicious symbols.  They can also be creator symbols, good omens, tricksters, and more.  Here are just a few interpretations that are relevant to the Doctor’s story.

####  **Greek & Roman Mythology**

According to Wikipedia, “In Greek mythology, ravens are associated with Apollo, the god of prophecy. They are said to be a symbol of good luck, and were the god's messengers in the mortal world.”  Clara and the Doctor didn’t seem to have good luck, but things aren’t quite what they seemed.

####  **Norse Culture**

According to Wikipedia, 

> French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss proposed a structuralist theory that suggests the raven (like the coyote) obtained mythic status because it was a mediator animal between life and death. As a carrion bird, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. For example:
> 
>     In Sweden, they are known as the ghosts of murdered people 

The raven in “Face the Raven” was a Quantum Shade, a being associated with a ghost.

####  **Natives of the North American Pacific Northwest**

Many native peoples in the North American Pacific Northwest consider the raven the Creator of the world, but they also consider it a trickster god.

Jackdaw certainly was a trickster and a con man.

####  **England & Tower of London **

According to Wikipedia, legend says that the Kingdom of England will fall if the ravens of the Tower of London are removed.

This is very interesting because in the 11th Doctor episode “The Day of the Doctor,” Kate tells Osgood:

> **KATE** : The ravens are looking a bit sluggish. Tell Malcolm they need new batteries.

So are the ravens outside the Tower of London like robots?  Are they cyborgs?  There is a connection here to the raven we see in “Face the Raven”  UNIT was infiltrated by Harmony Shoal.

##  **The Doctor, Clara, Master & the Djinni Trap from “Face the Raven”**

There is an interesting comparison of images between Clara and the birdcage in “Face the Raven” and the Master and the birdcage in “Last of the Time Lords.”  We examined this back in [_Chapter 18 of Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/23517906),   

In “Last of the Time Lords,” the Master imprisons the Doctor in a cage after suspending the Doctor’s regenerations and artificially aging him.  The Doctor in the future becomes a tiny alien that fits in a birdcage.  This supports the 12th Doctor changing the massive Sun into a dwarf Star.  Going back in time, we see the colossal Beast in “The Satan Pit” and then the T-Rex in more recent history, so the beast is getting smaller.  


Here’s Clara in the image below looking into the raven’s birdcage in “Face the Raven,” mirroring the Master as he looks into the birdcage with the Doctor.  However, there is one important difference.  The Master was totally on the outside of the bars.  Clara is shown partially behind the bars because she is also part of the Raven, part of the Doctor.  She and the Doctor are integrated, and she is a hidden face of him.  This would be like the 2 faces of a Janus.  


In this mirror, Clara is the Master, and the Doctor is the raven.  We’ve also seen how River is a mirror of the Master from “The Time Robber.”  River is a hidden face of Clara.  This does match the mirror we see below.

Back in [Chapter 13 of _Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8033002/chapters/20596189), when talking about Clara and the raven in “Face the Raven,” I presented this information below that we need to revisit.  There’s a djinni trap (white arrow) behind the raven’s cage.  The trap is an 8-pointed start contained within a circle.  The smoke (red arrow) is djinni smoke from the raven (a Quantum Shade) passing through the bars.  The bird is a djinni, a being with special powers.  


Here’s a photo of Clara next to the djinni trap.  She never crosses its path.    


However, this next photo has terrible implications because the Doctor crosses the into the djinni trap, meaning he is inside the trap and is the Quantum Shade that kills Clara.  Now, we can’t assume that he was actually transformed into a raven.  (The subtext and text suggest so many things.)  We know that Rory mirrors the 12th Doctor, and these events mirror Rory’s transformation into a plastic Roman soldier, who was forced to kill Amy.  If the Doctor remembers Clara, he has to remember this too.  


In canon right now, the raven is really a metaphor for Clara’s death.

Going by the Swedish symbology of the raven, the bird is the soul of the murdered Doctor.  That makes sense since Danny Pink, a mirror of the Doctor, killed the child he was.  We examined this awhile back.

##  **Ferdinand Kingsley in _Victoria_**

Ferdinand Kingsley is the son of Sir Ben Kingsley.  You may recognize him from _Victoria_.  He portraying the chef, based on a real chef in Victoria’s household, Charles Elme Francatelli.  His performance in _Victoria_ is meant to tell us that Queen Victoria is a mirror of Clara.

Kingsley’s name is also important, containing “king.”  The 12th Doctor crowned Clara in “Last Christmas,” making her queen.  He became king.  This follows the Great Work at the Sun stage, which says they are King and Queen.  Heliodorus in the painting from “The Time of the Doctor” that we previously examined says the Sun, the King, is the usurper, which matches Kingsley’s name and his character’s actions.  The Doctor has to move to the Red stage – the final one of the Great Work, so he is no longer the Sun.

##  **Clara & Queen Victoria**

We see an image within the episode of Queen Victoria, played by the actress from the 10th Doctor episode “Tooth and Claw.”   


Its reference here serves several purposes.  First, it brings back all the themes from “Tooth and Claw”: the werewolf, kidnapping of the Scottish boy, usurpation, monks, etc.  Second, it brings in the idea of Rose and the queen, since Rose was wearing a t-shirt with the crown.  She was mirroring the queen.  Clara in “The Snowmen” worked at the inn called “The Rose & Crown,” tying Clara and Rose together.  Third, it brings in the idea of Clara as the queen since Jenna is playing the queen in _Victoria_.

The Doctor pledged his life to the queen.  So Queen Iraxxa is a mirror of Queen Victoria, who is a mirror of Clara and Rose.

Most likely, events will follow in a similar manner as the self-sacrifice of Amy and Rory, where they jumped off the building in “The Angels Take Manhattan.”  It took Amy and Rory together to break the paradox.  Whatever way it happens in Season 10, people most likely have to sacrifice together to break the paradoxes.  

Clara would have to go back to Gallifrey, the Library metaphor.  And I still believe the Doctor will choose to stay with Clara and River in the Library metaphor.

##  **The 1881 Reference Foreshadows Ragnarök & 2 Doctors**

While we go back to 1881 on Mars, the year has another significance.  It’s a reference to the 1st Doctor story, “The Gunfighters,” where we see the events leading up to the fateful gunfight at the O.K. Corral.  It’s the outlaws vs. the lawmen, which can easily be symbols of the Beast vs. God or from Ragnarök, the giants vs. the gods. 

Even more interesting was the idea of mistaken identity and 2 Doctors.  Doc Holliday, the dentist in Tombstone, Arizona, pulls one of the Doctor’s teeth.  While Holliday goes in the back room to talk to his girlfriend, the Doctor is still sitting in the patient’s chair.  One of the outlaws comes in thinking the Doctor is Holliday and tells him to be out on the street for a gunfight.  

Holliday hears this and is very happy to allow the Doctor to be the Holliday imposter.  Somehow, he even talks the Doctor into wearing a gun.  Holliday is obviously a coward for allowing an innocent man to get caught up in this.

There’s a Last Chance Saloon, and there’s a woman who sings throughout the episode, like a Greek chorus.  The song is about last chances, which is very appropriate for Season 10.  Here’s just a small sample, and there’s a hanging:

> So fill up your glasses and join in the song,  
>  The law's right behind you and it won't take long.  
>  So come you coyotes and howl at the moon,  
>  Till there's blood upon the sawdust in the Last Chance Saloon.  
>  You've a good chance at swingin',  
>  It's your last chance to hide.  
>  It's your last chance at singin'  
>  Till your long last ride.  
>  It's your last chance of cussing  
>  At your hard-earned doom,  
>  It's your last chance of nothing.  
>  It's the Last Chance Saloon!

BTW, the Doctor initially introduced himself as Dr. Caligari, which is a reference to the 1920 German silent horror film _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari_ , where an insane hypnotist uses a sleepwalker to commit murders.  Here again is another reference to being usurped by mind control.

According to [Wikipedia on the O.K. Corral gunfight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral), which symbolizes Ragnarök:

> The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second shootout between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud, with Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policeman Morgan Earp, Special Policeman Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys, who objected to the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton claimed that he was unarmed and ran from the fight, along with Billy Claiborne. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed.

At the end, we see the Doctor holding a wanted dead or alive poster with Doc Holliday on it, which actually symbolizes the Doctor.  So he has a price on his head.

##  **Odin & the Doctor Hanging, Etc.**

We saw how Odin would sacrifice a lot for knowledge, including his eye.  He also hanged himself.  Hanging is obviously a theme because of the talk of it in “The Empress of Mars,” as well as in the song in “The Gunfighters.”  And there are quite a few times that I’ve seen the 12th Doctor’s head at the end of a rope or chain, a couple we’ve examined.  For example, we examined it in [my “Thin Ice” analysis](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10839516).

However, it’s come up with the 12th Doctor multiple times in the subtext.  

####  **“Listen”**

The first time I noticed it was in “Deep Breath” at the beginning of the episode, which we looked at.  However, the shocking one was “Listen,” where the Doctor had to know if a hidden being existed at the end of time after everything was dead.  Something might slither out from underneath the bed.  

In this image below, the lights in Orson Pink’s ship changed to a purple color – death – all on their own.  A noise made the Doctor stand.  Check out how the Doctor’s head is centered in this camera shot with the chain-like pattern on the wall behind him.  The Doctor’s head is symbolically hanging from the chain.  It was shocking the first time I saw it.  


So I wondered who was hanging the Doctor.  

In his quest for knowledge, he unlocked the airlock, but it opened on its own.  Something hit him in the head.  Below, he has a head wound (red arrow), and he’s unconscious.   


The really odd thing about this is that the TARDIS’s cloister bell starts ringing, signaling an impending disaster.  Clara realizes what is happening and intercedes.  She runs over to the TARDIS console, using the telepathic circuits, to take him to his childhood.   It looks like he may have stopped breathing at one point and comes back to life because he took a big breath, as though it was his first.  It would symbolize his death as a child, which is further supported below.

Clara lands the TARDIS in the barn, where the Doctor’s child self was.  The really odd thing here is what we initially see.  The image below is dark, so it’s not very easy to see everything, but there are ropes (white arrows).  This was shocking, too.  We also hear someone crying, which turns out to be the child Doctor.  The suggestion here with the ropes is the Doctor tries to kill himself, or someone tries to kill him.  With the other subtext from “Tooth and Claw,” among others, we know the Doctor was killed by something.  


Once the TARDIS takes off, we see that the child is a prisoner either metaphorically or physically with the bars on the window.   


With all that is going on here, the ropes suggest he was hanged.  With him crying all the time, as the man put it, the child probably saw the future, and was scared of it.  He could also represent the “weakling, heartsick” Scottish boy from “Tooth and Claw” who was stolen by the Monks and possessed by the werewolf, who “carved out his soul and sat in his heart.”  

We know the young Doctor died and became a ghost, as we previously examined, when Danny Pink killed him.

####  **Important Camera Angles Showing Contemplation of Taking One’s Life**

Camera angles can tell us a lot about what a character is really doing or thinking, which may be different than what the text says.  This is especially true when a character is planning on taking their own life.  On such occasions, we’ll see, for example, the camera angle from the line of view of the character’s body.  I’ll show you what I mean in several examples with Rory and the Doctor.

 **“The Angels Take Manhattan”**  
Let’s take a look at Rory first because we know he was contemplating suicide, and he’s a mirror of the 12th Doctor.  Shown below, Rory is making the sign of the cross with his body, so he is being crucified.  


The important camera angle, showing the definitive suicide contemplation, switches to this view below.  The camera is above Rory’s head, looking down along his body, one of the classic storytelling way to show us Rory’s thinking.  


**“Dragonfire”** ****  
Here’s an example from the 7th Doctor story “Dragonfire.”  It was used in the 11th Doctor episode “The Name of the Doctor,” where Clara jumps into the Doctor’s timeline and we see her as all his main companions.

In this image below, which is not the telltale camera angle, we see the Doctor climbing over the railing of the ice cliffs.  He’s doing this for no reason that is obvious here.  There’s nothing around, which is odd and does raise suspicions of a character contemplating suicide.  


Here’s the camera angle that tells us the Doctor is contemplating suicide.  The angle is along his body and looking down.  The 7th and 12th Doctors are the only ones that I can think of who have thought about suicide, but then the 12th Doctor has a lot in common to the 7th Doctor.  They’re both Scottish, but it goes way beyond that.  


**“The Return of Doctor Mysterio”**  
Near the beginning of TRODM, the 12th Doctor ends up hanging by his feet outside young Grant’s window.   


In this next shot, the classic suicide contemplation camera angle switches to above the Doctor’s body (red arrow).  


However, before this, TRODM also shows another classic way to show a character is contemplating suicide.  It’s hard to tell here, but the Doctor is tilting his head to look down, which he does.  We, then, just see the street.  If a character looks down on their own without someone saying the classic, “Don’t look down” or something like that, the character is contemplating suicide.  


We know from Nardole’s comments toward the end of the episode when the Doctor is crashing the spaceship that he is contemplating suicide.

> **NARDOLE** ; You are completely out of your mind!  
>  **DOCTOR** : How is that news to anyone?  
>  **NARDOLE** : I know you miss her, but couldn't you just write a poem? 

At the end, he is seriously suffering.  His shirt is unbuttoned at the top and his hand is rubbing his neck and chest like he is in pain.  This physical action suggests he is in both emotional and physical pain, like he’s trying to reduce the tightness and other physical heartache symptoms in his neck and chest.  


So the 12th Doctor’s self-sacrifice theme has been foreshadowed from the very 1st of his episodes, “Deep Breath.”  Here’s the half-faced man, his mirror, dying on the cross.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to make this meta series as clear as possible, so if it’s not, please let me know.
> 
> Check out my [meta archive on Tumblr](http://tardisgirlepic.tumblr.com/meta-archive) for images


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